Free Cherry Bomb by JW Phillips

followed closely by two of my security guards.
    “Sorry, Sir, the only way to stop him was
with force.”
    I raised my hand to the guards and nodded.
They were the least of my concern. Cherry’s husband stood only a
foot from me, and it took everything in me not to use force on him
myself. But I couldn’t. I had to play it cool. If he only knew that
Cherry had gone long passed a job into something personal, I was
terrified what he might do.
    I slowly scratched my fingers through my
hair. James Webb paced the floor.
    We couldn't have been less alike. His lean,
willowy frame didn’t compare to my muscular one. I measured in at
six feet, two inches. James was closer to five feet, six inches.
His peppered brown hair and dark brown eyes were the perfect
contrast to my pale blond hair and blue eyes. The only thing we had
in common was he was paying me to spy on
and sleep with his wife. A job I would do willingly.
    “First off, if you ever barge into my
personal space again, you’ll be paying for a nice long vacation in
the ICU.” I popped my fingers with a squeeze of my fist. “Now to
Mrs. Webb, I promise she’s my number one concern.”
    James sat down at the foot of the bed and
crossed his arm. He was fidgeting but the major tip-off that he was
nervous was the clenching of his teeth.
    “Anything else before I kick you off my
bed?”
    He twisted his head to look over his
shoulder. “She is taking me for everything I’ve worked hard for.
She’s mad because I had a little fun on the side. Shit, wait to you
sleep with her and you’ll understand why.”
    I have, and think you are the dumbest
bastard in the world to throw it away.
    “I just want what I’ve agreed to pay an arm
and a leg for,” James said.
    You can just want because I’m not giving you
shit, you arrogant son of a bitch.
    I didn’t answer him, just stared him down
with a look so cold it could have easily frozen the heart of any
man. I pulled on my shirt to avoid punching his fucking brains
out.
    “Believe me, I’ll take care of Mrs. Webb.” I
buttoned up my shirt with one thought on my mind, Cherry. Even the
high of money didn’t touch what she had given me.
    James realized that this was not the time,
and he had wandered into a place he didn’t need to go.
    “I’m sorry. You’re right,” he said as he
started to back out of the room, followed closely by the guards.
“I’m stressed. There is a lot on the line, and I never lose,” he
added before closing the door.
    Never, say never, you’ve never messed with
the likes of me.
    I have had more than my share of women who
gave up all control, without any demands or questions. It had been
enough, until I fucked up and held her. She was so damn sweet. I
had never had sweet before. I kicked a set of saw horses across the
room.
    What the fuck was happening to me? I
didn’t give two fucks what happened to anyone. I was cursed.
Everyone I loved was destroyed because of me. So why did I think I
could help her? Why did I believe I could wipe that sadness from
her eyes? Hell, she wasn’t even worth trying. She walked out on me.
I fell back on the bed with a plop. Those haunting green eyes of
hers floated across my mind, and I knew I would try. I was always
trying. But she was a battle I was determine not to lose.

Cherry Webb
     
     
    I shoved the papers across
the desk. I had been in a fog of uncertainty the past few weeks.
Always on guard, always waiting for something to happen. I raised
my head when I heard a knock on the door. Amy, the editor for the
small magazine I worked at, walked in. I just hoped she was no
longer obsessed with Master from the Dungeon. It was hard enough
trying to forget without the constant reminder. At least his
endless phone calls had ceased.
    “ Got a minute?”
    I motioned for her to sit
down, and started to gather my papers. “Sure thing. What do you
need today?” Other than another interview with Tall, Blond, and
Master.
    Moving to take a seat
opposite me, she handed